oe philadelphia



M. R. SHEEN.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED APR. Is. I9Ia.

1,336,789. Patented Apri 413, 1920.

FIG. 1. v

Milton Roy Shen/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MILTON ROY SHEEN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO TUNNEL MACHINE MANUFACTURING @t ENGINEERING COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION QF DELAWARE.

BUILDING co IsTItUcTIoII.

vApplication led April 13, 1918.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MILTON ROY SImEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Building Construction, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in building construction and particularly to sewer construction. The object of my invention is to construct a sewer within a circular excavation of a given diameter and to construct the sewer within a form or casing of smaller interior diameter than said excavation and expand the structure to the full diameter of the excavation, when the casing is removed; a further object of my invention is to provide a building block which is suitable for tunnel or sewer construction. Said blocks are wedge shaped and are provided with tongue and groove edges in such a manner that the blocks are reversible endwise, so that either end of a block may be inserted into the structure.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1, is a longitudinal section of a sewer in course of construction within a form 'or casing;

Figs. 2, 3 and i are plan, side and end views, respectively, of my improved block;

Figs. 5 and 6 are plan and side views, respectively of a block having reversible end tongues and grooves formed thereon, and Figs. 7 and 8, are plan and side views, respectively, of a still different form of block.

In the drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts, 1 represents the circular form or casing, provided with a conical end opening 2. 3 represents a helix having a cam surface 1. The helix 3 is mounted within the casing 1 and is rotated by gearing 6 or any other suitable means.

The helix 3 is provided with a recess, or pocket 8, for the insertion of blocks 10, successively, to form the structure. The cam surface t of the helix 3 pushes against the blocks 10 and moves the casing 1, forward, or away from the structure as the latter is formed.

The interior diameter of the casing 1 is smaller than the outer diameter of the structure or sewer when completed, therefore the entire circle of blocks within the casing cannot expand to its full diameter until the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented A131213, 1920.

serial No. 228,289.

blocksare forced out of the casing, at which point the structure will expand to its full diameter, due to the wedge shaped formation of the blocks, and the ends of the blocks will abut against each other and take the end thrust due to the action of the cam. The cement or plastic material used to bind the blocks together will be tightly pressed into all the crevices between the blocks.

The sewer structure will entirely ill the excavation, which latter is made coextensive in size, or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the casing 1, which latter passes through the excavation in advance of the formation of the sewer construction.

The casing 1 is provided with a conical bore at its open end. The conical surface 2 of the casing allows the newly formed structure to expand gradually as it leaves the casing.

In carrying out my invention I iind it is desirable to have blocks which are reversible and I providei a wedge shaped block having angular side faces 12 and 13 and provide a tongue 15 and a groove 16 upon each face 12 and 13. The tongue 15 extends approximately one-half the length of the face 12 and the groove 16 extends the other half of said face 12. The tongue 15 extends at an oblique angle to the face 12.

In the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the tongue 17 is prolonged and extends around one-half of the end of'the block and the remaining half of the end of the block is provided with a groove 18 to receive the tongue on the corresponding end of the adjacent block.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate a slightly different form' of block from that shown in Fig. 2, in which the corners of the tongues 20 are cut ofi' parallel with the side face 12 of the block and a triangular projection 21 is provided upon the side of the block which the projection 21 is adapted to enter the the diameter ofthe lining to ll the tunnel by forcing the blocks together endwise against the structure as it is formed.

2. 'Ihe method of constructing sewers comprising, the excavation of a tunnel, passing a casing into the tunnel, constructing a lining Within the casing by laying wedge shaped blocks around the inner surface of the casing, by advancing the casing and simultaneously forcing the lining out of the casing and thus expanding the diameter of the lining to ll the tunnel after the blocks are out of the casing by the action of the wedge shaped formation of the blocks.

3. The method of constructing sewers comprising, the formation of a tunnel,

passing a casing into the tunnel, constructing a lining Within the casing by placing therein interlocking Wedge shaped blocks with their interlocking side faces adjacent to each other and leaving spaces between the ends of the blocks, by forcing the casing off the lining and simultaneously forcing the blocks endwise until the ends thereof abut together and thus expand the diameter of the lining.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MILTON ROY SHEEN. Witnesses:

A. I-I. GRACEY, CHAS. M. MCLOUGHLIN. 

